Nice pics all, thanks for sharing. This one came in my email yesterday - thought it was worth sharing, even if it isn't one of mine:
{{gwi:30018}}

Here's a couple of coleus I've been pinching:
{{gwi:30019}}
{{gwi:30020}}

Over the last decade, I've mentioned innumerable times how happy I was that the property behind me, an abandoned strip mine, was reverting to woodland. There was close to 100 acres of grassland and trees up to about 30 feet. We had all sorts of critters to make friends with. That all changed recently. The new property owners came in and bulldozed nearly the entire parcel. Some neighbors say they're building a track for their motorized toys, and I can see that it looks like that might be true, but I guess I'll have to wait and see. Obviously, I'm heartsick over the whole thing. It reminds me of the old Joni Mitchell song Yellow Taxi with the words,

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got til it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXP0S0Xz9OE

Hi, to all. I hope everyone is enjoying the fall. Colors have been beautiful here, but are starting to fade as the leaves fall. Only 65 shopping days until Christmas - anyone here Christmas music yet? I think I heard it last year the day after Halloween.

Take care!

Al

In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Louisiana State University .

On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully with a soothing voice. He got down on one knee, inspected the elephants foot, and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.

The elephant turned to face the man and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Peter stood still as stone, thinking he was about to be trampled. Eventually the elephant put his trunk in the air and trumpeted loudly, as if saluting Peter. The elephant extended his long trunk and rested it on Peter's shoulder, "His Thanks", thought Peter, before the bull turned and slowly limped away. Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at Peter.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter could not help wondering if this was the same elephant. Summoning all his courage, Peter climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, then wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs, picked him up and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably the wrong elephant.

Al

HAHAHA!!!! Great to see you, Al, and a fine funny story.
I sympathize with you over the loss of your woodland habitat...the massive acreage where I hiked and camped as a lad was converted to a golf course and multi-million dollar homes about ten years ago. I think I'd have prefered a less concrete metaphor for the fading of my childhood.

In other news, the backyard flower garden of mostly xeric plants and California natives is still holding some color and keeping the bees and the hummingbirds busy.

Josh

Al, the pic you got in email, what is that? I love it!

VG - I think it's Dracula saulii. Commonly > monkey face orchid.

In today's mail:

Priceless!
God's Wife
IT WILL KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF!
I especially liked number 5!

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once
Talked about a contest he was asked to judge.
The purpose of the
Contest was to find the most caring child.
The winner was:

1. A four-year-old child, whose next door
   neighbor was an elderly gentleman, who had recently lost his
   wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old
   Gentleman's' yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
   When his mother asked him what he had
   said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, 'Nothing, I just
   helped him cry.'
   *********************************************
2. Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were
   discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture
   had a different hair color than the other members. One of her
   students suggested that he was adopted.
   A little girl said, 'I know all about
   adoption, I was adopted..'
   'What does it mean to be adopted?', asked
   another child.
   'It means', said the girl, 'that you grew
   in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy!'
   ************************ *********************
3. On my way home one day, I stopped to
   watch a Little League base ball game that was being played in a
   park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-
   base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was.
   'We're behind 14 to nothing,' he answered
   with a smile.
   'Really,' I said. 'I have to say you
   don't look very discouraged.'
   'Discouraged?', the boy asked with a
   puzzled look on his face...
   'Why should we be discouraged? We haven't
   been up to bat yet.'
   *********************** **********************
4. Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot
   in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott.
   Jamie was trying out for a part in the
   school play. His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being
   in it, though she feared he would not be chosen..
   
   On the day the parts were awarded, I went
   with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her,
   eyes shining with pride and excitement.. 'Guess what, Mom,' he
   shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to
   me....'I've been chosen to clap and cheer.'
   *********************************************
5. An eye witness account from New York
   City , on a cold day in December,
   some years ago: A little boy,
   about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the
   roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.
   A lady approached the young boy and said,
   'My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!'
   'I was asking God to give me a pair of
   shoes,' was the boy's reply.
   The lady took him by the hand, went into
   the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks
   for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water
   and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
   She took the little fellow to the back
   part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed
   his little feet, and dried them with the towel.
   By this time, the clerk had returned with
   the socks.. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him
   a pair of shoes..
   She tied up the remaining pairs of socks
   and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, 'No
   doubt, you will be more comfortable now..'
   As she turned to go, the astonished kid
   caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears
   in his eyes, asked her:

'Are you God's wife?'
*********************************************

{{gwi:2595}} - Al

A US Navy cruiser anchored in Mississippi for a week's shore leave. The first evening, the ship's Captain received the following note from the wife of a very wealthy and influential plantation owner:
"Dear Captain, Thursday will be my daughter Melinda's Debutante Ball. I would like you to send four well-mannered, handsome, unmarried officers in their formal dress uniforms to attend the dance.
They should arrive promptly at 8:00 PM prepared for an evening of polite Southern conversation. They should be excellent dancers, as they will be the escorts of lovely refined young ladies. One last point:no Jews please."

Sending a written message by his own yeoman, the captain replied:
Madam, thank you for your invitation. In order to present the widest possible knowledge base for polite conversation, I am sending four of my best and most prized officers . One is a lieutenant commander, and a graduate of Annapolis with an additional Masters degree from MIT in fluid technologies and ship design.
The second is a lieutenant, one of our helicopter pilots, and a graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago, with a BS in aeronautical engineering. His Masters degree and PhD in aeronautical and mechanical engineering are from Texas Tech University and he is also an astronaut candidate.
The third officer is also a lieutenant, with degrees in both computer systems and information technology from SMU and he is awaiting notification on his doctoral dissertation from Cal Tech.
Finally, the fourth officer, also a lieutenant commander, is our ship’s doctor, with an undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and his medical degree is from the University of North Carolina . We are very proud of him, as he is also a senior fellow in trauma surgery at the Bethesda Military Medical Center.
Upon receiving this letter, Melinda’s mother was quite excited and looked forward to Thursday with pleasure. Her daughter would be escorted by four handsome naval officers without peer (and the other women in her social circle would be insanely jealous).
At precisely 8:00 PM on Thursday, Melinda's mother heard a polite rap at the door which she opened to find, in full dress uniform, four very handsome, smiling black officers.
Her mouth fell open, but pulling herself together, she stammered, "There must be some mistake."
"No, Madam," said the first officer. "Captain GOLDBERG never makes mistakes." ;~)

Whew! Just got our power back on - lost it Sunday night. What a drag. Made it through OK, though.

Al

Can you spare a wooden nickel?

Creative fencing.

Hello Everyone!!!

Looking at the weather.. We are in the 70's today with temps dropping Into the mid 20's this weekend. Brrrr. Strong lines of weather just like last weekend... Argh...

Was that what caused your power outages Al? Strong winds and dangerous tornadoes hit the mid west. I am guessing you had some of that front hit you in MI? Glad to hear your power is on... I know what it is like to have to hook up to generators for days as well as 8 days during one hurricane here in Virginia Beach. I hope all of your plants and property came thru alright...

Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! ;-)

Drew.. What a sad sign.. Means a lot after hearing how Al had his back area ( neighbors yard) torn down. So sad.. That reminds me of the song he mentioned. " Paved Paradise... "

Love the fence too! Looks great with all of the beautiful colors!!

I have been arranging all of my plants getting them in their proper place for the winter. My Adeniums that are rather to big to haul upstairs, stay down in the family room because they are gettng to heavy for me to lift up and down.

Much to my surprise.. One of the seed pods decided to open a few days ago inside the house!!! I came home late from a trip and found this.. Glad it wasn't outside because I would have never had a chance to collect the seeds!!

Thought you all would like to see this beautiful act of Mother Nature.. She always surprises me with something.. I just love her!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!

Laura

Oops - sorry m'dear. I didn't realize you'd posted. The power was KO'd during the big wind storm weekend before last when a telephone pole blew over into the electrical line that serves our little cul de sac. Since the outage was related only to the few houses (20 or so) in our little corner of the world, we were sort of a low priority compared to the surrounding outages that found hundreds or thousands of homes w/o power. I remember worrying about you when Sandy came calling along the coast. ;-)

Thanks for the pics. In fact, thank everyone for the pics & their comments. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving (Thanks for the wishes, L) and found plenty to be thankful for. We had a houseful of company and extended family. Lol - we even had my wife's ex and his mother over for the day. I'm the cook, so was busy all day making ready to feed the crowd. Dinner was good, and so was the fellowship. It's always nice to have the kids home together at the holidays.

Al

A unique presentation of a couple of familiar Christmas carols from a group I think has a special talent. I hope you enjoy the Youtube videos .... and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Carol of the Bells

Little Drummer Boy

I like little drummer boy best, but they’re both showcase some very special talent. - Al

Al,

I have seen this group before and a very good friend turned me onto this talented group of youmg go getters.. They are just awesome in the fact that they all sing accapella . Very impressive If i may say so myself. .. It's is so nice to see young talented stars hit the big time with only their true talents. ( their voices)

I hope you and the Mrs and the rest of your family have a wonderful Christmas!

May all of your family have a wonderful Christmas holiday!!! I hope Santa is good to you too!! ;-)

Take care,

Laura
...

This post was edited by loveplants2 on Sat, Dec 7, 13 at 12:13

Thanks, Laura. Merry Christmas to you & B & the kids, too!

One of my guys at work asked me if I'd ever heard of the group (Pentatonix) before. He's a lot younger than I, so when I started talking about their cover of the song "Royals", he was REALLY surprised I even knew they existed. I know I shared this with you before, but others might be interested in listening/seeing it: Perpetuum Jazzile singing "The Rains in Africa". Turn your speakers up!

Al

Howdy, Al, Laura, Rina, Drew, Mike, and everyone else!

Al, glad to hear you're doing well! Hope the weather isn't too bad in your neck of the woods.

We had a nice snowstorm last Friday...dumped a few inches here, and about nine inches at my sister's. With the weather this week being cold by our standards, 20F's by night and 40F's by day, the snow has stuck around. Today we broke into the 50F's, though, so it'll melt quickly.

It's amazing what you can do with a greenhouse and a few containers.

Click on photos to see more.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fruitnut's greenhouse

Hey, Everyone!

Just wanted to drop in and say Happy Holidays!

I truly enjoyed every photo posted! Gorgeous plants and flowers, gardens and pets, and the skill to grow it all... most wonderful! Thank you all for sharing!

The gardens are quietly sleeping, and growth has slowed indoors, as well... the only thing stirring an Epi Cactus that bloomed recently, for its first time! Lovely white flowers, and a perfume-like scent!

I am hopeful of a bloom or two from my little Dendrobium, but I'm not holding my breath. It's growing well enough, but I don't think it gets enough light to set buds.

Rina, the only really bad pests we get are those greenish beetles that destroy everything in sight... and by the time they are adult, so are the praying mantises. We are lucky to have a good population of predators, so we haven't had too much trouble with various pests.

Thanks, Josh... Lilies and Daylilies are some of my favorite plants... relatively easy to grow, low maintenance, and beautiful... they make nice fillers in the rose beds.

Leave it to Al to come up with something that can make me smile and tear up at the same time. Thank you, Al! :-)

I don't yet have photos to share of my blooming Epi Cactus... or of the beautiful white world we awoke to the other morning, with hoarfrost clinging delightfully to everything... or of the animals grazing in pasture... or even the many flowers of last season's gardens. I hope to get them uploaded soon. I've been slacking terribly lately in the photo department!

We're getting ready to travel north for the Holidays. We'll visit the kids and grandkids for Christmas, then stay a little longer to celebrate a Birthday.

Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful Holiday filled with love and happiness!

And as always... Happy Gardening!

Hope everyone is safe with this crazy weather everywhere...especially if travelling.

We are having freezing rain in southern Ontario...pretty to look at but big problem with broken trees-power lines are down, streetcars not working, some parts of Subway out of service too. In Toronto there is still over 260,000 people without power, some areas may not be restored until Christmas Day or after. Hope hydro crews will be able to manage faster - they are all working, no holiday break.

Amazing how much damage 1" or so of ice can do.

Rina

This post was edited by rina_ on Mon, Dec 23, 13 at 1:29

I am trying to grow artichokes in Northern Virginia. I need to get them through the winter without killing them. Has anyone ever succedded at this.

If you like to read, I would like to recommend the novel, "The Last Neaderthal Clan."

Howdy, everyone! Ah, what a fine Christmas! Had a few ciders yesterday and a delicious meal with family and friends. Now things are a bit more quiet. Sun is shining and some plants are outdoors for the day.

Charlie, welcome. I'll look into that novel. I love to read and write. I just finished the first draft of my own short vampire novel (nothing like the current crop of emo-goth vampire fiction).

Josh

Hi, everyone! Had a nice Christmas Holiday, I hope you did too, but it was a busy one. We had 3 major food events within a weeks time, and I'm the cook in the family, so between getting ready for company & planning/making the edible goodies, it got hectic. I hope all of you guys had a very Merry Christmas, and get to enjoy a prosperous 2014 in good health.

We had the same ice storm Rina had. Lots of downed trees/branches/power lines, so lots of outages. We were luckier this time than the last storm, around Thanksgiving, that had us on generator power for several days, so I'm thankful for the reprieve.

Our drive is covered by about 8" of almost solid ice. We had several inches of super wet snow, then lots of rain & freezing rain followed by more snow, then a deep freeze. The result is a packed-down frozen mess that is almost impossible to move by hand. I'm thinking I'll be waiting for the same guy who put it there to take it away. ;-)

Again - HI to all of you guys and a Happy New Year to you and yours!

Al

Whew! We have at least a foot, maybe 15" of new snow in the last 24 hrs from this big storm, plus the 6-8 " we already had - still snowing hard and the front is moving fast, so it's windy with lots of heavy drifting. I barely got out of my little circle-subdivision with a 4wd vehicle. It's 8* F now, in mid-afternoon, going down to -13 tonight, -3 Tues, -11 Wed, then back to something closer to normal temps.

We also had a power failure here at work today. I was trying to figure out how to move a car out of my garage to get at the generator, and how to get down the road in a truck to pick it up, because at these temps/wind the inside temp would drop quickly & pipes would freeze. Fortunately, the power came back on & saved me all of THAT scramble.

I often push the zone envelope, but even with the extreme cold, I'm not too worried about losing plants because of all the snow cover acting as an insulator ..... so I guess the snow is a good thing, in a way.

I hope everyone else bears up under what the weather brings. I can only imagine what the heat bill will look like this month. ;-) Keep warm!

Al

Stay warm, Al!
It's a cloudy 63°F here..... ;-)

Josh

We had a very cold November,December, and January is starting off cold. I have been paying most of my attention to my blueberries in raised beds. But every spring I still make enough 5.1.1 to fill 15 20gal containers." thanks Al" Stay warm! Mark. AKA Filix.

I guess I didn't realize your name was Mark, Filix. ;-) Show us your elephant ear/ elfette picture again?

Dear Diary:

Aug. 12 - Moved into our new home in Michigan . It is so beautiful here. The hills and river valleys are so picturesque. I have a beautiful old oak tree in my front yard. Can hardly wait to see the change in the seasons. This is truly God's Country.

Oct. 14 - Michigan is such a gorgeous place to live, one of the real special places on Earth. The leaves are turning a multitude of different colors. I love all of the shades of reds, oranges and yellows, they are so bright. I want to walk through all of the beautiful hills and spot some white tail deer. They are so graceful, certainly they must be the most peaceful creatures on Earth. This must be paradise.

Nov. 11 - Deer season opens this week. I can't imagine why anyone would want to shoot these elegant animals. They are the very symbol of peace and tranquility here in Michigan . I hope it snows soon. I love it here!

Dec. 2 - It snowed last night. I woke to the usual wonderful sight: everything covered in a beautiful blanket of white. The oak tree is magnificent. It looks like a postcard. We went out and swept the snow from the steps and driveway. The air is so crisp, clean and refreshing. We even had a snowball fight. I won, and the snowplow came down the street. He must have gotten too close to the driveway because we had to go out and shovel the end of the driveway again. What a beautiful place. Nature in harmony. I love it here!

Dec. 12 - More snow last night. I love it! The plow did his cute little trick again. What a rascal. A winter wonderland. I love it here!

Dec. 19 - More snow - couldn't get out of the driveway to get to work in time. I'm exhausted from all of the shoveling. And that snowplow!

Dec. 21 - More of that white crap coming down. I've got blisters on my hands and a kink in my back. I think that the snowplow driver waits around the corner until I'm done shoveling the driveway. Damned jerk.

Dec. 25 - White Christmas? More freakin' snow. If I ever get my hands on the sonofa----- who drives that snowplow, I swear I'll castrate him. And why don't they use more salt on these roads to melt this crap??

Dec. 28 - It hasn't stopped snowing since Christmas. I have been inside since then, except of course when that SOB "Snowplow Harry" comes by. Can't go anywhere, cars are buried up to the windows. Weather man says to expect another 10 inches. Do you have any idea how many shovelfuls 10 inches is??

Jan. 1 - Happy New Year? The way it's coming down it won't melt until the 4th of July! The snowplow got stuck down the road and the poophead actually had the gall to come and ask to borrow a shovel! I told him I'd broken 6 already this season because of him!

Jan. 4 - Finally got out of the house. We went to the store to get some food and a damned deer ran out in front of my car and I hit the thing. It did $3,000 in damage to the car. Those beasts ought to be killed. The hunters should have a longer season if you ask me.

Jan. 27 - Warmed up a little and rained today. The rain turned the snow into ice and the weight of it broke the main limb of the oak tree in the front yard and it went through the roof. I should have cut that old piece of dung into fireplace wood when I had the chance.

May 23 - Took my car to the local garage. Would you believe the whole underside of the car is rusted away from all of that damn salt they dump on the road? Car looks like a bashed up, heap of rusted cow flop.

May 10 - Sold the car, the house, and moved to Florida . I can't imagine why anyone in their freakin' mind would ever want to live in the God-forsaken State of Michigan

Al, from MI

Oh My! I'm laughing so hard right now...

To funny, Al!!!

We are having another snowstorm here in Virginia Beach! The stores are empty, the gas stations have lines out into the street!!

The local news is on constantly about the snow storm... Argh!!!

I hope everyone is staying warm in this nasty weather!!!

Here is a tropical bloom To make you think of summer and warm weather. Ahhhhh ! I can't wait!!! This is blooming right now under my T-5 lights.

This is a NOID yellow Plumeria that reminds me of Lemon Chiffon Pie!! It has the beautiful floral fragrance.

Have a great night!!!

Laura

Lol Al! Having lived my whole life minus a couple of years in Savannah GA and Los Angeles just to see how the rest of the world lives, I knew exactly where that diary was going. And it was still hilarious. It's a wonderful state to live in if you don't have to go anywhere from December until March!
--Andrew (in Detroit, until I'm released to go back to beautiful Kalamazoo)

Laura - I know how rare more than an inch or two of snow is to you guys, but we hardly even give it notice. We have about a foot on the ground right now, and it's snowing ..... and that's after we lost about a foot of snow during a recent thaw & rainfall.

What a gorgeous plant! So perfect and unblemished. Good job!

AR - so you're getting a good dose of MI weather. You're a MI native?

Al

Am I the only one who isn't getting copies of posts to threads I'm following?

Al

Hey, Al!
email notifications have been spotty for me, as well...although I was notified of your reply to this Thread. It could have to do with the "revamp" work that GardenWeb has been doing....I always notice errors whenever they bring in a new feature or new advertiser - especially new advertisers.

We have a chance at snow tomorrow! The Sierra Nevada mountains really need it. I'm sure you've all heard about the Droughtmongering going on here in California.

With the warm weather, the Narcissus have begun blooming about a week early.

Josh

I just moved 5" of fresh powder off my decks & driveway & the neighbors drive as well. Gotta new 2 stage Honda snow blower with caterpillar tracks instead of wheels and I'm a snow-blowing fool! We have about 2' on the ground, I'd guess. It's been sooo cold this winter. Cold doesn't bother me at all - just walked a half mile with the dog in a long-sleeved tee shirt and a cotton duck cloth vest @ 20* with a fairly stiff breeze.

Heard about the drought & lack of snow cover in the mountains. Have a friend in Fremont that grows citrus & she was telling me about how dry it's been. Said she lost mature lime, lemon & plum trees this year that just dried up. That stinks.

Thanks for the info on the post noticed. I haven't rec'd one in weeks.

Al

Hello Everyone!!!

This weather is absolutely crazy.. Last week we received 5 inches of snow then the next day it all melted . A few days ago we received a record 13 inches...

Al.. You are right, we just don't get the snowfall totals that you guys get up north and those freezing temps, but we did this time. We had the lows in the single digits and we never see temps go that low. I was worried about my palms, but all seems fine. Keeping my fingers crossed!!! We had to search for the heavy duty snow shovel that I bought a few years ago, just in case!!!

Thank you for the kind compliment on my Plumeria, this one is especially crisp and elegant with a beautiful fragrance to boot!!! I was very pleased with the detail In This one...

Hi Josh!!! I hope you guys get some much needed rain and or snow. I have seen the models on the snow pack from last year verses this year and I am just shocked. My friends In Southern Cali are all worried about this major drought and the fires that will be in the future.. It is very scary. You be careful! The Narcissus debut is a good sign!!! I wish we had some evidence that spring is in the forecast... I am Worried about this other storm they are predicting for this weekend..

Mike must be getting tons of snow.. I am sure he has had quite enough of this white stuff as well.

I am overnighting In the North East tonight and they are still plowing the streets ... the airport is a mess. Walking across the Tarmac was most dangerous tonight. I did take a tumble on the ice, but popped right back up. I guess I was lucky. The whole ramp area was nothing but A ice rink. Probably will feel it tomorrow!!! ;-)

Nice to see everyone.. Al, I can't believe you just wear a vest. Way to cold for me. brrrr..

Stay warm!!!

Laura

Think spring...

Laura

{{gwi:1685}}

Thanks for the pics, Laura! Soo sorry about the tumble - hope it was only your pride involved and nothing else hurt. ;-)

Al

YHelloHelloo my friends..Just checking in..I hope everyone is fine these dasy..

Al, that frogs looks exactly how I feellllllSnow up to my chin and very tired of it with and sad it's not spring yet.

Laura, be careful please keep us updated on your Palms!

ok, computer freezing on me here at work..I'll be back

Sheesh..Either this thread lost its punch, or I scared everyone away...lol

Just kidding..I hope everyone is doing fine in their busy lives..

Mike

You said you'd be back - we were just waiting for you. So wassup? ;-)

Al

Hey, Mike, Al, Laura, Jodi, and all!
Windy and rainy here in California....all of the Daffodils are going to get knocked flat. In other news, my peppers are germinating....in a crunchy, gritty mix ;-)

Josh

Hey, man! Still freezing cold here. We had a couple of days of above freezing last week with some freezing rain, but then it was right back in the snowy deep freeze. Sunny & 7* now. Going down to -15 tonight & -11 tom o night, they say. That's pretty typical since before Chriostmas - coldest winter I remember ..... and much more snow than we usually get - prolly 4-5 times more than recent years, at least.

If you've ever worked for a boss who reacts before getting the facts and thinking things through, you will love this!

Arcelor-Mittal Steel, feeling it was time for a shake-up, hired a new CEO. The new boss was determined to rid the company of all slackers.

On a tour of the facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning against a wall. The room was full of workers and he wanted to let them know that he meant business. He asked the guy, "How much money do you make a week?"
A little surprised, the young man looked at him and said, "I make $400 a week. Why?"

The CEO said, "Wait right here." He walked back to his office, came back in two minutes, and handed the guy $1,600 in cash and said, "Here's four weeks' pay. Now GET OUT and don't come back."

Feeling pretty good about himself the CEO looked around the room and asked, "Does anyone want to tell me what that goof-ball did here?"

From across the room a voice said, "Pizza delivery guy from Domino's."

Al

Al, sorry I missed your comment on 1/22! I must have forgotten to check the notification box, and I've been busy with papers and midterms.
Yes, I am a Michigan native. Born and raised in Kalamazoo, exiled to Savannah for college, sentenced to Los Angeles for work, came back to Kalamazoo on good behavior. I was promptly sent me to Detroit for 6 years of school. But Kalamazoo is where I belong, and I'll be back before long.
The irony is that I'm on spring break this week. And there's a good foot and a half of snow on the ground, and 4-5 foot mountain ranges bordering every road, parking lot, driveway, and sidewalk (up to 20 or 30 feet in some big parking lots!). I had been hoping to help my parents get some plants started this week, but alas, it was not to be.
And you're right: this is the coldest winter I can remember too. I'm trying to be optimistic about it. :-)

Hello Everyone!!!

Al, Mike, Josh, Jodi....

Just had another round of sleet and snow for a total of 7 snow days missed for the little ones. My problem is that when they close the schools, they close day care and guess who gets the call when I am in town? Ummmhmmm!!!
"MOI". It's alright, but every week? Really? I am so over this mess and I am ready for spring. I am dreaming about April and everything that goes with that beautiful time of the year.. ;-)

Here is a plumeria that already has a protector ready... To cute!!! This tree is in OZ....

Have a great evening!

Laura

AR - sounds like you're making your own opportunities - good for you!

Thanks for the pic and the thoughts, L. I didn't THINK that little guy was a US native. Lol - sounds like that gramma business isn't turning out the way you might have expected, eh? ;-)

Al

Sigh - my sister-in-law is coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks. I guess I'll have to clear out half my closet so she has a place to hang upside down and sleep.

Al

Lol..Good one Al! Sounds like you have a batty of a problem...lol
You could always move your plants aside and make room.ha
I'm praying for an end to this miserable cold weather..How did the birds fare this year for you? Did they come back?

I did mention something about your frogs, but now I forget..
I hope all is well and that the real frogs will be able to sing again soon..This winter is just killing me..I think I know what it's like to live in a cave now...I'm as white as a ghost.

Hello Laura and Josh and every one else..Good to see you all surviving...I have not seen this cold for years...I am grateful my fish loaded pond did not freeze up..It almost did since I accidently shut the power off to the pond pump..It only too two days for the whole top to freeze over but luckily I noticed it and broke the top open so the fish could breath.
I also notice that my ground in the garden must be frozen at least more than 6 inches deep! I hope my bulb and perrenials make it through this.

Let's see, what else? I left all my potted plants in a dark area of my garden and they have been buried with snow since December..I hope they make it too by the time the thaw comes..Keeping my fingers crossed.

What else? Since I have been couped up inside, I have painted ever single room in my home and added a three seasons porch..That explians my absence besides sickness..

The only saving grace this winter was my greehoused plants, especially my orchids and two bull frogs inside! I actually downloaded brid chirping and sounds along with relaxing sounds and play that with my eyes closes in the nice very humid warm greenhouse on sunny days in this weather..Sure takes the edge off! All the orchids have come to bloom and many others..

Laura..What a beautiful picture of that frog!!!!!!! It's so postcard looking. I love it and you know how I feel about frogs! Thanks for that. Good to see there is still a REAL need for you while you are home, right?lol I remember was he was just born and when you visited me...Seems like yesterday.
Either that frog is so content, or just trying to stay warm.

Josh, Let it rain and rain, right? You could use all the rain you can get.Horay for the peppers buddy!

P.s..I talked to Jodik and she is ok..I am trying to get her back here...She's a gem and missed here.
So's Jojo..She is ok too..Says hello.

Hoping you all well and wamrth.

MIke

I've been so busy this year, I've hardly had time to feed the birds:
{{gwi:10863}}
and I learned just this week that next year has the potential to be MUCH busier than this year if I lose a key man at work who is on the verge of leaving. In 2013 I committed to 3 garden walks for this summer, but I know I'm not going to have the time to keep my gardens in the kind of shape I'd want them in for the walks, so I'm going to beg for a year or two's postponement until I can devote the time.

We lost some snow today - actually saw a few bare spots of ground here & there driving home from work. Year before last I took a week off to do bonsai repots in the middle of Mar, since the temps had shot up into the upper 70s and 80s and stayed there for several days. I had buds breaking all over the place. This year, we can (literally) count the number of days above freezing since early Dec on 2 hands. We've had lots of snow, but not record amounts; but the cold cold cold temps are lower than I can EVER remember - and the day after day lows in the single digits to well below 0* is getting tiresome.

Give your mom a hug and say HI for me, please. Take good care, Mike.

Al

I am now the proud owner of 2 very tall copper planters. The tallest is 42" by 18". They both have top planting pots that are separate and fit down into the planter...So the bottom 2/3 is empty. Also, they do not have a bottom in them/good for drainage.The soil and plants make them top heavy. I need to securely weight them somehow before I add dirt and plants. I tried bricks and they both blew over in these wild March winds. Don't want this to continue. Any ideas for me? Thanks so much!

Peach time in northern California! Hello, all!

Josh

Hi, Debbi - You could use duckbill type earth anchors. The small ones require no special tools to install; or, you could use helical (auger) type earth anchors. Either could be used to secure the main pots or the plants, temporarily or for the long term. 2 per planting would be all that's required.

Al

Below, you'll find a link to the continuation of the thread.

Thanks!

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: Anything ..... VII